Stretching Summer

Despite the current heat wave in Denver, there’s no point in denying that summer is on its way out and fall is creeping in. As a last hurrah, I’ve been admiring bold floral fabrics. While some of them decidedly say “summer,” I’ve found quite a few that can carry you into fall.

Zara – a store I plan to hit up more than once on my upcoming vacation – had more variety in floral prints than any other single store I found online.

Zara Printed Floral Tunic  – $60 – Add some tights and heels and wear it into early fall.

Zara Printed Tunic Blouse – SALE – $19.90 – Tuck it into a fall-weight pencil skirt and you’re good to go.

Zara Printed Tunic with Cap Sleeves – SALE – $19.99 – This + jean jacket + brown boots = Fall

Boden Scoop Tunic Dress – $118 – I just purchased this cutie. I’ll wear it with wedges until it’s too cold to go without tights and riding boots.

Anthro Floral Still Life Pullover – $148 – Anthro suggests adding this gauzy tee to a pencil skirt for a preppy look. We agree!

Fall trend: Pop that collar

No, we aren’t talking about the early 2000’s trend of Polo popped collars. We’re talking about collars that pop – with pearls and jewels, two of my favorite things.

Jeweled collars are a perfectly Office Pretty trend for the fall that we’ve already started seeing in our favorite stores. They are both feminine and unexpected and remind us a bit of why we love a statement necklace so much. We’ve already shared a lovely jeweled collar sweater from JCrew, but today we’ve found a way to turn any blouse, sweater or dress into a jeweled collar masterpiece.

• The photo above, from Anthropologie, is the perfect example of an Office Pretty way to wear this trend. Pair this jeweled collar with a round neck top and blazer.
• This jeweled collar would look great with a simple blouse and black pencil skirt.
• Try this colorful collar with a column dress that has a high, round neckline.
• Make any dress or top stand out with this fancy jeweled collar necklace. It comes in black too!
• Try to mimic this look on your own with this tutorial.

And, just for fun, this classic LBD with jeweled collar from Kate Spade would be the perfect fall wedding or cocktail party dress.

Reunited

Earlier this week I reunited with one of my all-time favorite purchases: an bright floral coat that I purchased in high school.

Back then, I didn’t always make the best fashion choices. So, it’s pretty amazing that I made this purchase at a time in my life when it was perfectly acceptable to wear Doc Martens, plaid flannel shirts, tube tops and running shorts to class (sometimes those items were in separate outfits, and sometimes they were not – eek). More than 10 years later, I still wear this compliment-inducing coat from time to time.

This week, I wore it with cropped pants and colorful Valentina pumps. For your Friday afternoon viewing pleasure, we’ve rounded up a few similar Office Pretty items from across the interwebs.

• A bright spring coat you can wear for years
• Spring worthy pumps
• More bright pumps in action at the office
• An amazing floral coat worn last spring
• An Etro floral find

Oops! I did it again

After we accidentally started the new year in twin outfits, would you believe that on another day the very same week we arrived looking like fraternal twins? (Lots of jokes about spending too much time together ensued.)

Looks like we’re starting 2012 with a flair for bold colors and vintage shapes – and we both turned to Anthropologie to help us capture this silhouette.

We’re wearing opaque tights, vintage-inspired shoes, and knee-length flowing skirts. Want to recreate the look yourself? Some of the items we’re wearing are still available in stores…

• Laura’s lace top
• Laura’s skirt (now on sale)
• An Anthropologie dress similar to Jill’s
• T-strap shoes similar to Jill’s